Switching member for circuit breakers



May 20, 1952 R. G. PAGE SWITCHING MEMBER FOR CIRCUIT BREAKERS Filed May 11, 1950 V M .W 6%

Patented May 20, 1952 UNITED STATES SWITCHING MENlBER FOR CIRCUIT BREAKERS Robert G. Page, New Britain, Conn., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to General Electric Company, a. corporation of New York Application May 11, 1950, Serial No. 161,295

3 Claims.

switching member of my invention showing it in full lines in closed circuit relation to conventional elements of a circuit breaker, and in dotted lines in open circuit relation.

b Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the switching mem- Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view showing the mounting of the switching member.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the switching member.

In the drawing, I have shown the invention as applied to part of a circuit breaker in which I and 8 represent portions of circuit terminals mounted on a part 9 of a circuit breaker housing. Part I is secured in place, for instance, by member Ill, and part 8 mounts one of the stationary contacts ll of the circuit breaker.

The movable switch contact I2 is carried by a spring arm I4 and connected to the terminal plate I5 by a flexible conductor IS, the end of which is looped around a rivet I'I between the tip of the arm I4 and the contact I2. The arm I 4 is mounted on a rocker shaft I8 which also carries the usual tripping member (not shown) of the circuit breaker.

This arm I 4 has two cars I9, I9 having openings 20, 20 which ears are slidably mounted on the shaft l8 and biased so as to grip the shaft I8 to normally hold the arm against longitudinal movement on the shaft. By pressing the ends of the ears I9, I9 toward each other .they may be released so as to permit the arm I4 to be adjusted longitudinally of the shaft. The base of the arm is spaced away from the shaft I8 so as to provide a passage 2i for the looped conductor I6 which is passed beneath the shaft I8 and connected to circuit terminal part I.

The switch parts are shown in closed circuit or on position in Fig. 1. When shaft I8 is rocked either manually or automatically, the arm III is swung upwardly in a counterclockwise direction to open or off position as shown in dotted lines.

It will thus be seen that the device is very simple and compact and is very adequately supported on the rocker shaft. It can very easily be mounted on and taken off of the shaft and is readily adjustable along the shaft.

I claim:

1. In a circuit breaker, a switching unit comprising a terminal member, a rocker shaft, a movable switch member carried thereby, said member including an elongated spring arm, a contact riveted to one end of the arm, spaced perforated mounting ears formed integrally on the other end of the arm extending at right angles to the plane of the body of the arm and encircling said shaft and being biased to normally slidably grip the shaft for adjustment therealong, the perforations of said ears being spaced outwardly of the body of the arm to provide a passage between the shaft and the body of the arm, and a flexible conductor extending along the arm and through said passage, said conductor being looped around the rivet connecting the contact and arm and having its ends connected to the terminal member.

2. As an article of manufacture, a movable switch member comprising an elongated flat arm of spring metal having a contact element at one end with means for attaching said element to a conductor and having a pair of aligned perforated ears integrally formed with the arm at its other end for receiving a supporting and actuating shaft, said ears being biased away from each other to grippingly and releasably engage the shaft.

3. A switching unit for a circuit breaker cornprising an elongated flat movable switch arm of spring metal, a contact secured to one surface thereof at one end, perforated ear members integrally formed on the other end of the arm and extending from opposite edges and from the opposite surface, in biased relationship for grippingly and releasably mounting the arm on a supporting and actuating shaft, and a flexible conductor extending along and beyond the arm, one end of said conductor being connected to said contact and the other end which extends beyond thearm hingedly connecting the arm to a terminal, said hinged connection including a plate member for attachment to the terminal, the perforations in the ear members being spaced outwardly of the arm a suflicient distance to permit the conductor to pass behind th supporting and actuating shaft when the unit is on the shaft.

ROBERT G. PAGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,127,813 Graves Aug. 23, 1938 2,211,412 Filko Aug. 13, 1940 2,440,034 Wiegero Apr. 20, 1948 

